70 years: Macau in the big picture of China’s development

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) speaks to high-ranking officials as they arrive for a dinner marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

On the cusp of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and as Macau prepares to mark its own milestone of 20 years since its sovereignty was transferred back to the mainland, the Times asked several local commentators about Macau’s contribution to the development of modern China. The commentators remarked that the city has served as a “window to the mainland” throughout the short history of the PRC, helping to bridge China with the outside world.
Macau has been positioned, naturally or purposefully, as the mainland’s window, said commentators Paul Chan Wai Chi, a history teacher and former lawmaker, social commentator Larry So and journalism studies academic Camões Tam.
According to Chan, when the PRC was formed, Macau’s role was similar to that of Hong Kong’s – to be a window for the mainland and an incubator for national unity.
Tam added that the fates of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were interwoven, and what applied to one needed to be considered with reference to the other two. This is perhaps most evident in the one country, two systems policy framework, under which the two Special Administrative Regions enjoy a large degree of autonomy, while recognizing Chinese sovereignty.
On the other hand, So views Macau’s role during the inception of the modern Chinese state differently. He saw Macau as a transit room. “A lot of people from the mainland – refugees or immigrants, you name it – moved to Macau at that time,” he said, referring to the early days of the PRC. “Some of them stayed briefly before moving to other places, while others started to reside here permanently.”
As history moved forward, So and Chan’s opinions regarding the role of Macau gradually converge. “During the Korean and Vietnam Wars, an embargo was levied on the mainland. Under this, Macau became a window for commodities and necessities to [be smuggled] northwards into China,” explained So.
Orchestrated by the United States, the international embargo on China lasted throughout the 1950s and 1960s, banning exports to the PRC and preventing the import of goods. The embargo was lifted by U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1971 to permit the export of nonstrategic items.
The older generations in Macau may remember bringing such goods to the mainland themselves, as it was reportedly a common occurrence for families with ties across the border.
Later, when the mainland opened its doors to global investment under former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, Macau businesspeople were among the first to invest in mainland China. Most of them invested in manufacturing and contributed to the development of China as the world’s “factory floor.” For So, this moment represents the most prominent contribution of Macau to the 70-year-old story of modern China.
Chinese land under Portuguese management
Long before the 1999 handover, it had been broadly agreed by the People’s Republic of China and the inhabitants of Macau that, at that time, the mainland was not yet ready to reclaim the then- Portuguese enclave. Besides, not immediately retrieving the city offered advantages to the mainland under a system that would eventually become the one country, two systems framework.
The 1974 Carnation Revolution had disassembled the Portuguese empire and transformed its holdings into a republic. The new administration in Lisbon decided all overseas territories, including Angola, Cape Verde and Macau, would be decolonized.
Two years before the Carnation Revolution, the United Nations General Assembly had voted to exclude both Macau and Hong Kong from the list of colonies in response to a proposal from the PRC.
The Portuguese knocked on Beijing’s door, informing them of their intentions to return the enclave, but Beijing decided the time was not right for them to retake control of Macau, specifically stating that the return should occur at a symbolic moment. The mainland administration declined Portugal’s proposal and insisted that the Macau question should be resolved only after the handover of Hong Kong.
A directive regarding Macau was issued in Beijing: “Plan extensively and use fully.” According to Tam, this moment was the basis for both the one country, two systems principle and the Basic Law.
This left Macau in limbo between the two administrations. The administration in Lisbon no longer considered Macau a colony or overseas province of the Portuguese Republic. As a result, the Portuguese decided to designate Macau as “Chinese land under Portuguese management.”

A trade role once more
Since its establishment as a Special Administrative Region of China, the role of Macau vis-à-vis the mainland has changed significantly. The rapid economic development of China has diminished the country’s reliance on the trade links of Hong Kong and Macau, and yet the two territories are envisioned to continue serving a role in major trade directives designed by Beijing.
Chan and So see Macau’s new role in economic and geographic terms, focusing on the Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative.
“Macau is positioned by the central government as the Center, the Platform and the Base in the Greater Bay Area strategy,” noted Chan. According to him, this means that Macau should work toward becoming a world center of tourism and leisure, a platform connecting China and Lusophone countries and a base for cultural exchange.
So said that Macau’s contribution in future will remain predominantly in the gambling sector, banned on the mainland, while also expanding to other related fields in leisure and the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) business.
“Of course, it looks narrow to talk only about gambling and leisure, but MICE needs the support of other industries, [such as] hospitality and dining,” said So. “This is the strength of Macau, which can benefit the Greater Bay Area as a whole.”
Macau’s role in 2019, according to Tam, is to continue the effective implementation of the one country, two systems framework in order to set an example for Taiwan. Daniel Beitler & Anthony Lam